Whom Does He Keep?

Whom Does He Keep?

Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

John 17:11

We want to linger over this text, to mine the gold out of the depths of these few words from the Mouth of Christ. As Christ is praying His High Priestly prayer, He makes what appears to be a simple request, but there is a world of matter here. He says, ‘Holy Father, keep through Your Own Name those whom You have given me.’ Here Christ intercedes for a specific group of people. He describes them as ‘those whom You have given me.’ Elsewhere, the Scripture describes these people as ‘the elect,’ ‘the chosen,’ and ‘the people of God.’ Christ describes them as, ‘My sheep’ in John 10. These are those, ‘chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.’ These are those, of whom Paul speaks in Romans 8, when he says, ‘For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.’ These are those for whom Christ came, for whom Christ lived, for whom Christ died, for whom He rose again, for whom He intercedes, and for whom He is returning with power and great glory. These are those who ‘now are…the sons of God.’ These are those who are the children of God by adoption, who cry, ‘Abba, Father, and who are ‘kept by the power of God.’ Are you such a one as this today? We desire to ever encourage the people of God, but we must also plead with you who are yet out of Christ. If you would know the blessing of God’s keeping, ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.’

Our Most Gracious Sovereign God,
we praise You, that You uphold and preserve us in all our ways.
We rejoice that You keep us, no matter what our circumstances are,
or where we may be.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning